Silent Hill: Resonance

Prologue

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The ear-piercing squeal of the blasted alarm wrenched me from my sanctuary of sleep. My hand groggily flopped around on the nightstand in search for the wondrous button that would silence that godawful sound. When my fingers slipped over the button, the shrill sound of the alarm finally stopped and my eyes instantly burned against the lampstand on the night table. 6:35. I groaned into the pillow. Too early, especially for a Saturday, but things had to be done. I threw off my blankets, giving myself a couple of seconds to feel the cool, morning air brush against clammy skin. It was comforting as I almost fell back asleep, but I snapped out of it. Getting up and allowing myself a mighty stretch as well as wiping the liberal amount of drool off my chin, I dragged my feet across the gray carpet and bumped against my dresser.

Throwing off my underwear, I stumbled into the shower and turned the handles to allow the warm stream of water to roll down my back. The water was nearly scorching, but it felt heavenly against tired muscles. It didn't take much time for the steam to engulf the room and make its mark on the mirror. Resting my head against the tile on the wall, I nearly drifted off into sleep again before forcing myself to stand fully straight, "Come on, wake up!" I told myself, "What's wrong with you?"

I gave myself fifteen minutes to soap up, rinse off, and dry up, then quickly throw on a tank top and sweats before I made my way to the kitchen.

Making a full breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and toast, I divided the meal onto two separate plates. It'd been a while since I had cooked a complete breakfast, usually I did something fast that I could throw in the microwave, hopefully he'd like it. With that in mind, I turned to the old, white breakfast nook that was in desperate need of a new paint job and placed the plates on either side. I scarfed mine down while taking his breakfast across from me into consideration. Hopefully, it won't get cold by the time I wake him up… although I know he won't complain.

I took the last two bites of my sunny-side-up egg before glancing at the wall clock, just above the oven. 6:50. If I didn't wake him up now then the day would never get started. I stood, put my dishes in the sink, and promptly made my way down the hall. Across the hall from my room, I cautiously opened the door to find a large mountain of pillows and blankets on the bed. Underneath the dim light of the hall, I tiptoed in but the floor still creaked under my weight I shook the arm that stuck out, the only visible sign that a human was underneath the mess of blankets and pillows, and whispered, "Come on Joey. Get up. We have a busy day today."

Instantly, a mop of golden, brown hair popped out of the mess. He didn't say anything, as per usual, but simply looked up at me with those huge, brown eyes. Funny…genetics. How two brothers could look nothing alike.

His features were soft, mellow, with brown hair and soul-piercing, hazel eyes. They contrasted sharply with my own strong jaw and nose, black hair, and green eyes. We were two of four brothers, I was the second oldest and my brother, Joseph, was the youngest. He was twenty-four, and I was twenty-nine. And somehow…despite being brothers, him being only four years younger than I, I thought of him somewhat as a son. I took care of him, fed him, clothed him, gave him a roof over his head, and more. In return, he gave me a reason to get up in the morning.

I glanced at the clock in the kitchen again, 7:00. Joey was at the nook eating the breakfast I had prepared earlier with very little enthusiasm. It was difficult to watch him eat sometimes. Sometimes he would bring a forkful of food to his mouth only to tighten his lips and gag, only then for him to eat it shortly after…or lose his appetite entirely. I had the same problem, but I eventually grew out of it, Joey still suffered from it on an infrequent basis.

"Hey, we have to be there by eight so try to be all dressed up and ready to go by seven-thirty, okay?" I managed a smile as I watched him take a comically small bite from his toast. Joey nodded once in response. Ruffling my hand through his soft hair, I walked out of the kitchen to let him finish.

I made my way to my office next to my bedroom. Sitting in my chair next to my desk, I switched on my computer to see if I could get a little work done before I had to go. I worked as a history consultant, mostly for middle and high school US History textbooks. I would be interviewed on radio shows, podcasts, and documentaries for my perspective and view on historical events. It was a good job that allowed me to work from home so I could look after Joey whenever I needed to. Right now, I was writing about the Gadsden Purchase, which allowed the United States to take control of southern Arizona and New Mexico for the purpose of the Transcontinental Railroad. Looking back at my career choice, it actually made me laugh considering how much I hated history back in high school. I had actually wanted to be in the Marines, but… I had to take care of Joey.

Suddenly, the cordless phone beside the monitor rang, startling me from my reminiscing as I jumped in my chair and yelled. I glared at the phone, wondering just who in the world would call me at seven in the morning, but picked it up, saying, "Hello? This is Jacob Ryan," as politely and evenly as I could.

"Jake? Hey! What's up," came a familiar voice - my good friend Andrew.

All annoyances of early phone calling aside, I smiled and replied, "Hey, Andrew! Nothing much, what's happening with you?"

"You know it's the Fourth of July in a couple days, right? Listen, me and a couple of the guys are meeting up at my place for a small BBQ. Crack open a couple of beers, eat some ribs, watch some fireworks. God bless America, amirite?"

I sighed deeply, biting my lip in reluctance, "Uh…You know what, man? I would love to, but…I have to take Joey to Pleasant River for the Fourth."

"Pleasant River? Why?"

"They don't allow fireworks on the Fourth. You know how Joey is…"

"Come on, man! You can bring your little brother! We'll just give him some earmuffs!"

"No…That wouldn't work…You know the situation."

"Yeah, I do…damn. Oh well, have a good Fourth of July."

"Alright, you guys have fun! Save me some ribs!"

"Haha! Alright man, you know it! Bye."

"Bye."

After the call dropped, I took to replying to a couple of emails before I made my way back to my bedroom to change into something more fitting rather than a tank top. Throwing on a green, buttoned up shirt and some black jeans, I looked out my window to the foggy day. I could already see bits of frost building around the edges of the window and dark gray clouds in the sky. Is it going to rain? I thought. I ultimately decided it would be best to throw on a light coat.

Joey was already dressed and sitting in the living room by the time I got out. "Alright, buddy! Off to Dr. Jackson's!"

Jumping into my dark brown Toyota Camry, I turned the key as the car roared to life. Rolling out of the driveway, I drove down the main road through Brahms. We moved to Brahms two years ago looking for a peaceful place to relax and not worry about the bustle and loud noises of a big city.

The fog was pretty thick, I could barely see the red, white, and blue streamers that hung from lampposts and posters advertising Fourth of July, and Independence Day sales that covered the windows of shops and businesses during the drive. Brahms was a small and quaint town, there were always signs of life and people and cars, but never traffic or crowded sidewalks. There was always enough peace and quiet, but there was always something to do. That's why I loved it here. However, right now, Brahms was devoid of life. Granted, it was 7:45 on a foggy Saturday.

The drive was pleasant, but we made it to our destination earlier than expected thanks to the lack of traffic. But I always loved looking through the side windows and seeing the thick forest of trees and wildlife, so I did enjoy taking my time getting there.

Finally making way to Joey's doctor's office in Shepard's Glen, we pulled into the parking lot and found a spot near the front door. We trudged in against the morning chill, and after signing Joey in for an appointment, I spent the next couple of minutes flipping through some trashy, gossip magazine until Dr. Jackson called us in for Joey's appointment.

I gave the doctor his symptoms: a runny nose, fever, dry throat, cough. He diagnosed Joey with the common cold and prescribed some medicine to help him out. It was a relief as I had thought that Joey had been getting worse.

However, as we got back in the placed his hand over his mouth, "Joey? You alri-"

A spew of vomit slipped through his fingers as he opened the door and threw up on the pavement of the parking lot. After the breakfast was gone from his stomach did he lay back in his seat and whimper. I felt his warm forehead, "You know…I'm going to take you home, I'll go get your prescription."

Joey nodded, knowing it was for the pharmacy was on the other side of town, so I'd have to hurry.

Walking up the stairs of the front patio of the house, Joey turned and sullenly waved. I returned the wave and started my way to the pharmacy.

I hope he'll be all right by himself, I worried, he has my number! So if there's a problem he'll call-Oh no! Did he lock the door when he walked inside the house...No, I'm sure he did, he doesn't like leaving himself vulnerable. Damn it, he's fine! He's a grown man!

Shaking off my concerns, on my way back to Shepard's Glen I decided to try an alternate route through Silent Hill. I always liked taking the more scenic route by the highway, but I wanted to get Joey's medicine as fast as possible. On my way back down the main street, the fog dissipated as an ominous swirl of storm clouds above obscured the morning sun and for a moment, I thought it was nighttime. Then came a downpour of heavy rain, it had come fast, in a matter of seconds. In response, I turned on my windshield wipers and quickly slowed down the car so I wouldn't go sliding on the roads as I made my way out of Brahms.

Traveling on the highway for about a couple minutes, something came into view…

WELCOME TO SILENT HILL

That was the sign I never got to see as the entire street was barricaded off and flashes of red and blue nearly blinded me. I slowed to a stop as I tried to make out what I saw in front of me. Police cars, as well as plain black cars were all parked behind a thick barricade of what looked to be steel grates. A blond gentleman, who was absolutely soaked, approached the car as I rolled down the window. Wincing as the water from above began to seep into my car, he drew near the window and took off his sunglasses to reveal green eyes brimming with energy. He wore a blue coat over a white shirt and black tie, with thick bold yellow letters on his breast pocket reading FBI. His hair was like a mop, saturated with water and thick globs of gel.

FBI…What the hell is the FBI doing blocking the entrance to Silent Hill? Despite the loud and chaotic rain, he spoke softly, "Sorry, we've got all of Silent Hill on lockdown. FBI and state police investigation."

"What's going on," was all I could manage to come up with, so distracted by the entire scene in front of me.

He simply shook his head, allowing some of the excess rain to fall on the upholstery of my car. "Sorry. That's only for FBI and Maine state police to know. I'm sure it'll be all over the news in a couple days…or tonight. You know the media."

"Well…I'm trying to get to Shepard's Glen."

He nodded, "Take a U-turn, and a bit back you'll run across a dirt road. That road'll take you to a highway that goes around Silent Hill… and one of the exits is Shepard's Glen. The second exit on the right, if I remember correctly."

I nodded, "All right, got it."

"Drive safely."

He walked away as I rolled up my window, my eyes followed him as he made his way to his previous location in front of the barricade. He simply stood there, as though he were a tree with mile long roots underneath holding him still. He didn't even have an umbrella. I followed his instructions by going back until I found the dirt road that cut through a mist of trees. A ray of lightning cut through the sky, lighting it up. A loud boom of thunder followed shortly after.

I pushed on the gas and went on the road, and from the second my front wheels touched mud, I knew it was an absolute mistake. I cursed myself for being so stupid and shortsighted. My back wheels sank into the mud as sludge splattered all over my car and windows. "Oh! Motherfu-Gah!"

The car was stuck. It wouldn't move an inch. I stopped the car and sat there with my hands curled tightly around the wheel in thought. I'm such a dumbass. I could call a tow truck, but with this rain, it would take the tow truck a couple of hours to get here. Slamming my hands on the steering wheel, I sighed and grumbled, "I knew I should've agreed to that roadside service."

Without a moment to lose, I grabbed my satchel in the back seat, filled with papers, my wallet, and a thick book for my work. I sighed deeply, knowing that stepping out in the rain and trudging in the mud was going to be ugly. Oh well, if the blond man could stand out in the soaking rain, I could walk through a little mud.

I did the math in my head and figured that the barricade should only be about ten minutes away if I walked fast. And from there, hopefully, someone would be able to help me, I'm positive one of the boys in blue would be willing to help me out. Protect and Serve, after all.

I opened the car door and stepped ankle deep in mud, immediately regretting every decision I had made thus far. I grinded my teeth as I felt the soft, runny and cold slop slide into my shoes and socks. Slamming the door, I locked it and shoved the keys in my pocket before I trudged heavy footstep after heavy footstep in the earth until I hit the solid asphalt. Looking down at my muddy and dirty shoes, I walked to my right, to the side of the road, trying to take cover under the brush of the trees.

What the hell was I thinking? Driving through a dirt road, in a storm!? That's the problem, I wasn't thinking. I walked as quickly as possible and even slipped up a couple of times, but I held my head low as my hair and my clothes washed out, "All I wanted was some medicine! Was that so much?" I asked the heavens in exasperation.

Then all of a sudden, the rain lightened, then turned to a sprinkle. I sighed in relief. Maybe God was watching out for me, although the sun didn't break through, and the skies were still as black as night, but it was an improvement. In the haze of the sprinkling, I saw the same blue and red flashing lights behind the barricade. I jogged to the barricade, holding my satchel strap like a purse, not wanting it to slip off. Only then did I realize it was caked in heavy mud, "Ah, damn it! This is leather too!"

I slowed as I got up to the barricade, a rather large barricade now that I was up close, despite the fact I was around 5'10 or so. There were about seven cars altogether, all of them flashing their lights…but…there was no one there. No FBI agents, no state police, no blond man… no one. Why would the FBI and state police set up such a large and intrusive barricade if no one was here to secure it?

Granted, I really doubt anyone with any sense would steal anything and be willing to jump a huge police barricade, but still…

Pulling myself over the barricade, which was pretty difficult considering its size and the wetness of the rain, I looked around for any sign of life…but there was none. I looked inside the driver side window of the Maine State Police cruiser, and there was a towel in the passenger seat. I hesitated, knowing how bad it would look if someone came by, but no one was here…

I opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked considering there was a fully loaded shotgun and rifle sitting right next to the driver seat and reached over to grab the towel from the seat, hoping it would dry by the time anyone got back.

After drying off my face, I looked around once more…It was strange…It was as though…everyone was pulled out of thin air and left all their things behind. It made me feel…odd.

I began to feel sick, as though something in my stomach wasn't agreeing with me. I pressed my lower abdomen, but I tried to ignore it as I carefully walked from car to car looking for anything that'll give me some kind of sign.

I figured that it was about a thirty to forty-minute walk back to Brahms. Although the rain had reduced to a sprinkle, I still didn't want to make the long trek back. I had already wasted enough time.

…So without wasting any more time, I walked further down the road into the city of Silent Hill…